


Remember Me

by PyrophobicDragon



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Amnesia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 16:10:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13791300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyrophobicDragon/pseuds/PyrophobicDragon
Summary: The monster-of-the-week is a bogeyman. A memory-stealer.





	Remember Me

Nott wakes up after a much-needed long rest. She sits up, feeling a bit queer. Looking around, she sees nothing unusual--her companions slumber on, with Fjord on watch, frying up some salt pork for breakfast. He sees her looking about and asks, “Slept well?”

 Nott shrugs. “I...I think I had an odd dream last night. I feel a bit funny.”

 Fjord straightens up with a frown. “Funny how?”

 “I don’t know...” She struggles to put the strange feeling into words. Eventually, she says slowly, “Like I’m...like I’m missing something, maybe?”

 Fjord nods, then admits, “I think I know what you’re talking about. Maybe that memory-stealing monster we chased away from that last town did take something from us?”

 She shakes her head. “I don’t think that’s it--there’s no holes in my memory that I know of. I still remember my name, my face, everything.”

 “Huh,” is Fjord’s only reply. Then he shakes his head. “Get over here and get some breakfast, yeah? I’ll wake the others and we’ll be on our way.”

 “Well...all right,” she demures, then moves over and scoops up what is perhaps more than her fair share of pork. Fjord deliberately ignores it as he wakes the other four.

 Breakfast passes in sleepy silence. But while breaking down camp, Jester starts digging through her bag, frowning to herself. Molly is the first one who notices, leaning over Yasha’s leg to ask, “What’re you looking for?”

 For once, Nott talks faster than Jester. Pointing at her, the little goblin cries, “Do you feel it, too?”

 “Feel what?” Beau asks, suspiciously.

 “Feel like you’re missing something!” Nott and Jester chorus at once. They point to each other, making little excited noises and nodding at each other, stuck in their strange method of communication.

 Yasha raises her voice to be heard over their squeals. “I feel it too.” At her confession, both Molly and Beau nod, looking around.

 Fjord stops, midway through rolling up his back, and orders, “Check your bags, everyone, see if anything’s missing. Thought I was the only one who felt fishy, but if y’all feel it too...”

 At once, everyone dives for their things. Silence mostly rings out as they all dig through their items--but nothing seems out of place.

 While shifting through her purse, counting quietly under her breath, Jester stops short. “Wait...Bryce paid us twelve-hundred gold for the gnoll thing, right?”

 “Yeah...” Beau replies slowly, shifting through her own pack.

 “And we didn’t give Yasha any--sorry Yasha--so we should have gotten two-hundred-fourty gold each, right?”

 “Right...” Molly also starts shifting through his gold purse.

 “Then why do I only have two hundred gold?” Jester looks downright _offended._

 “Did you spend it?” Fjord asks, narrowing his eyes.

 “No! Well, I spent a few gold on pastries, but I still should have over two hundred thirty gold!” She’s starting to flap her hands about.

 Molly raises his hand, tail swishing in agitation. “I only have two hundred too. And I didn’t spend a cent.” He points at Fjord, Beau, and Nott. “Check your purses, too.”

 A quick, frantic count later, and they all confirm they only have two hundred gold apeice. “That’s so strange,” Jester humphs, “What happened to the forty extra gold?”

 “M-maybe a thief?” Nott suggests. Then her eyes widen. “I didn’t steal it! I swear!”

 “We know, Nott, you were asleep all night,” Fjord assures her. He looks at Jester, brow furrowing. “That is really weird. We had watches going all night, too…”

 “And why would a thief take exactly forty gold from each of our purses? I mean, if you’re going for subtle, then take less, right?” Beau rests her chin on her fist, eyes darting back and forth as she thinks.

 Silence falls again as they all look at each other, utterly baffled by this turn of events. Finally, Fjord shakes his head. “We’re not gonna figure out why while sitting here. C’mon, let’s go back to town. We need to resupply before we track that bogeyman.”

 Their things are once again packed away, and they set off, with an uneasy feeling roiling in their guts.

 ***

 That night, Fjord has a strange dream.

 He dreams of blue.

 

  _R   e   m   e   m   b   e   r_

 

_m   e_

 

He wakes up reaching out for open air with a hollowness in his heart.

 ***

Back at the town that had hired them to take care of their bogeyman problem, they split up. Fjord wanders down the road, alone--the others had left him to take care of the inn, as always, while they purchased more supplies. They were low on healing potions. Again.

He feels strangely lonely, though he’s searched for inns alone ten times before. He frowns a little--first that odd feeling of loss, then that strange dream that he could hardly remember, and now this weird feeling of loneliness? This place must be cursed. He’ll be glad to get out of here once this damn elusive bogeyman is dead.

When he zones back in, he’s in a bookstore. He dimly recalls someone wanting some book on creatures to read up on bogeymen, so he speaks with the proprietor and pays five of his two hundred (only two hundred--what happened to the other two hundred? Gold couldn’t grow legs--) for the thick tome. He tucks it under one arm with a bit of effort--it’s thick, and heavy, and he’s not sure how they plan to read it all in one evening.

Reconvening with his friends at the inn, he drops the book on the table and announces, “Someone wanted this book. I can’t remember who, though.”

Silence.

He’s starting to dread the silence, especially when coupled with that confused look on everyone’s faces. “I didn’t. Molly?” Beau asks.

Molly also shakes his head. His purple skin is slowly paling to lavender. “Is this--is this another weird thing that’s happening?” His voice is slightly higher-pitched than normal, and he grasps his mug with both hands to take a fortifying sip.

Nott mirrors him with her flask. “I think--I think it is. Is this place just getting to us? Is it the bogeyman? What’s happening?”

Before Fjord could reassure her, Jester gets there first. “It’ll be okay, Nott, we’ll get to the bottom of this!” She pats her shoulder. “Once we kill the bogeyman, I’m sure it’ll be all better, and doubly so when we get out of this spooky town.”

“Well, all right…” Nott nods quietly, then takes another sip. It’s smaller this time, and she screws the cap shut and tucks it away.

Fjord stares at the book he dropped on the table. Feeling spooked just looking at it, he looks away and stretches. “Let’s go get some sleep while we can, and then set off early. Deal?”

General grumbling and everyone rises to follow him upstairs.

***

Russet red mixed with the blue.

 

_Please_

 

_Remember_

 

_Find_

 

_Me_

 

He wakes up in cold sweat.

 

***

Bogeymen are hard to track. But Molly was good, finding minute broken twigs and tiny areas of sunken mud. The trail goes cold and returns several times before they come upon an old, creaky hut by a bog. It’s so far sunken into the dirt that it lists at a steep angle.

As they stealthily make their approach, Yasha’s big, heavy foot comes down onto a branch.

_Crack!_

The door to the hut flings open and a dark shadow flies out, bounding across the plains into the distance. Beau curses, turning to make chase, but Molly holds out a hand. “It’s fine, let it run, it’s tired. It’s not covering its tracks as well. We can find it and kill it soon.”

As soon as Molly assures them of their impending victory, Jester and Nott rush over to the hut to scavenge for any treasures.

Then Jester screams. “There’s a person in here!”

On the ground, half lying into a large damp puddle that occupied the majority of the room, is a man. A very skinny, vaguely malnourished-looking man, pale but still breathing shallowly. His ginger hair is filthy, and dirt streaks his face and ratty coat.

Jester runs over and kneels down, checking his pulse. Reaching for her healer’s kit, she pulls out a vial of smelling salts and waves it around under the man’s nose, spilling a bit in her eagerness to assist. The man rouses in a matter of moments, opening up blue eyes and blinking blearily around. His face instantly splits into relief. “You...you found me…” he breathes, eyes wide and liquid. He speaks with a slight Zemnian accent.

Jester beams, relieved. “Yes, we did!” She sticks out her hand. “I'm Jester. We've been hired to hunt down the bogeyman.”

When she introduces himself, his expression immediately falls, then shutters. Looking around, a brief moment of--dismay?--crosses his features. “Have...have you killed the creature?”

“No, we haven't, not yet,” Fjord finally finds his voice. This man...he can feel a train of thought tugging at the back of his head. Every time he tries to grasp at it, it slips away.

The man hangs his head briefly. Then he looks up, eyes distant. He offers, a mite desperately, “I could help you. I have a lot of knowledge on this creature, as well as some mild talent for magic. And I cannot return to--I cannot rest until it is killed.”

“Well, we could use the help, we're honestly not entirely sure what we're dealing with here,” Molly confesses.

“What's your name, mister?” Nott asks. She's staring at him so intently that she doesn't even realize her mask is off.

The man looks at her. Unflinching at her monstrous appearance, he replies after a moment. “My name is Caleb Widogast.”

***

Caleb is a quiet travelling companion. He walks at the back of the party, hunched over and sullen. Or at least he does until Jester either takes pity on him or starts viewing him as a new victim. She falls back and starts interrogating him.

“Where are you from? Are you from the town?”

“No, I am from elsewhere.”

“You can do stuff with magic? Are you from the Soltryce Academy?”

“...I have heard of it, yes.”

“Why are you so dirty?”

“I have spent several weeks on the road.”

“Oh, so you're a traveler? Do you travel alone?”

“In a sense, yes.”

Seeing Caleb get more and more depressed with every question, Molly finally intervenes. “Stop interrogating the poor man, Jester. You mentioned you know something about our quarry?”

Caleb jumps at the chance to shrug off Jester’s questions. “Yes, I do, I was studying it before it snatched me, in fact.” He straightens his back and starts talking.

“It is a creature that hoards memories. It is quite intelligent, but weak in battle--thus, it prefers to hunt at night and flees when pursued, though it cannot run indefinitely and it will tire long before its hunters do.”

"That's marvelous, thank you.” Molly gives him a wink, making him look down at his feet.

Jester jumps in once again. “Don't you have any questions for us?”

Caleb looks off towards the horizon. “No, I don't.”

 ***

 

  _Please._

 

  _Thank you but_

 

  _Remember me._

 

The sound of quiet sobbing fills his dreams.

 

_“Caleb!”_

 

***

 

When he wakes up, he's tightening his arms around empty air, wanting so badly to comfort, but not knowing who, how, or why. His face is damp, and he looks up to see a mop of ginger hair in the dim light. He sits up groggily.

Caleb says, quietly, “You were calling out in your sleep. I woke you because I thought you wouldn't want to wake the others.”

“Th-that’s right. Thank you.” Fjord presses his palm to his head, shaky. He meets Caleb’s eyes and admits, “I've been having...strange dreams and feelings. Is that the bogeyman?”

Caleb nods. He’s not looking at him. Instead, he stares out into the darkness, although he should not be able to see. “Yes. Hopefully when it is killed, your dreams will go away.”

Fjord breathes a sigh of relief. “That's good to know. Thank you.”

Caleb hums in reply. Fjord feels that little strange feeling once more and he reaches out for Caleb’s arm, but stops himself before actually touching his wrist. Instead, he hesitates then asks, “When we kill the bogeyman...will you go home?”

“In a sense, I suppose you could say that,” Caleb answers evasively. Fjord decides to not press him on his odd answer. His blue eyes are full of some distant emotion.

“Oh.” He doesn't know what possesses him to add, “I was gonna ask if you wanted to travel with us a bit.”

Caleb’s initial response is to laugh softly. He turns to look at Fjord when he replies, even more enigmatically, “We will see.”

 ***

In the morning, once again walking, following the increasingly obvious tracks of the bogeyman, Jester asks, “Is your accent Zemnian? Do you speak it?”

“Ja,” Caleb replies.

Fjord turns to looks at them. At the mention of Zemnian language, a little bit of knowledge rears up, and for whatever reason he wants to impress this strange man. “I know a bit of Zemnian. Uh, ich liebe dich? That means ‘I love you,’ right?”

Caleb’s expression _twists_ painfully. He feels his stomach drop--what did he say wrong?--but he’s interrupted from trying to apologize by Yasha snorting and Beau saying, “Didn't know you knew a lick of Zemnian. Where did you learn that? And why’s _that_ the only thing you know?”

“Oooo, did you have a Zemnian looooove-eeeer?” Jester teases him.

Fjord casts his mind back, but comes up with a blank. Out loud, he says slowly, “Where _did_ I learn that?”

He can’t recall ever actively deciding to learn Zemnian. And when trying to think of other words, all he can think of are those three. Where on earth did he pick that up…?

He turns to look at Caleb.

The man looks _crushed._

He’s obviously been trying to hide his emotions for whatever reason. But right now, dismay is clearly written on his features. When he catches Fjord looking, he attempts to smooth it away.

Fjord steps closer, frowning. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” Caleb quite obviously lies. But before Fjord could press him, the grass rustles, and a black shadow springs out.

In a flash, Nott’s crossbow bolt is sinking into its side. Fjord flips his sword around, tossing out a flash of eldritch energy as Jester shouts, the toll of a bell ringing out. As Beau, Yasha, and Molly charge for it, it attempts to flee once again.

Caleb shoves past Fjord. Fjord catches a glimpse of his expression out of the corner of his eye and has to do a double-take--

His face is set, determined, with almost cool rage. And under his breath, Caleb says, softly, “Oh no you don’t….”

Three blasts of fire jettison out of a diamond that suddenly appears in his hand. Even as the bogeyman flees, all three shots slam into it back unerringly, making it shriek as it collapses into the grass.

Everyone looks at each other briefly. “Well, that was easy,” Molly comments, looking disappointed as he sheaths his swords.

Caleb strides forward. He stops then turns, facing Nott. “Nott, could I trouble you for your sword?”

Nott pulls out her sword out from under her cloak, handing it off. Then she frowns, looking down. “How did you know I had a sword?”

Already walking over to the bogeyman, Caleb calls over his shoulder, “All will be clear in just a moment. Just--please, come over here a moment.”

 “You’re an awfully fishy man, you know,” Beau comments as they draw closer. Her eyes are narrowed in suspicion, hands tight on her staff. Even as they all subtly follow her lead, readying themselves, Caleb just nods absently, kneeling besides the body. He presses the edge of the blade against the beast’s belly and then slices upwards.

There’s no vicera. Instead, a wave of small, pearl-like orbs, maybe an inch in diameter, spills out. Some are grey and dull. Some shine whiter, and then one rolls out of the belly, glowing a pure white so bright it out-glows the ambient light.

 They all look at Caleb, wordlessly asking for an explanation. He runs his fingers through the pile and says, softly, “These are all memories. The brighter they appear to you, the more memories from you they contain. Break them open, and they will release and return to their rightful owner.” He gestures at the pile. “Go on, break one and see what happens.”

Fjord bends down, reaching for the brightest one, utterly puzzled. Did that many of his memories get stolen by the bogeyman? Before he can pick it up, Caleb swoops in, snatching it up and dropping it into his pocket. At everyone’s cry of dismay, he holds up his hand. “I--I need that one. I wish to test another orb first before I break that one.”

He was acting stranger and stranger. He looks downright nervous as Fjord scoops up one, a faintly glowing one. Fjord looks around, also feeling oddly jittery. “All right, let’s try this. One, two, three--”

And he slams it into the ground.

White mist pools out and instantly they remember.

_The bartender at the inn. A sweet red-headed young lady--she was stolen by the bogeyman, but not physically like Caleb was. Instead, she sat in the corner of the inn, curled up around a drink, eyes damp with tears as co-workers, friends, and family passed her by without an ounce of recognition._

The memory sinks in. As soon as it settles, there’s a briefest of pauses before they go on a frenzy, smashing all the orbs they could reach, stomping and breaking them open in a hurried rush.

_The transient man, sitting behind the alley--no one missed him, but everyone knew him, and they all forgot--_

_The butcher’s apprentice, young but unable to go home--_

_One of the guards, jobless, lifeless--_

 One by one, they still, as the shards of trapped memories dissipate into the dirt. Fjord turns to Caleb, who looks--

 Relieved. As relieved as he looked when Jester revived him in that shack.

He’s not the only one who sees it. Beau steps forward, crossing her arms. “You should break the one you’re holding. It’s apparently made up of a lotta my memories, and I wanna know what I’m missing.”

Caleb chuckles, smiling a genuine smile. “Trust me. No one wishes to break this one open more than me.”

And he whisks it out of his pocket and drops it to the ground.

_Caleb, standing in front of the lawmaster as she listens, stunned that such an awkward, quiet, weak man could be so bold when it came to his tiny, tiny friend--_

_Caleb utterly failing at hitting any target, swearing to himself with each failed hit, making her giggle so hard she completely misses her target as well, forcing Beau to duck out of the way and soon they’re all locked in a cursing-fest that makes her laugh louder and louder until it can reach the Traveller--_

_Three streaks of flame careening out and spreading flame all across that troll, and when she glances back Caleb is stepping backwards to hide behind a tree again, making her chuckle before she lunges forward to finish the job in the glow of his dancing lights showing her the way--_

_Caleb, switching from a socially awkward wisp of a man to that persona he wears around strangers, pulling charisma around himself like a cloak, a protective armor as he backs up Fjord, persuading a guard to release them, and he feels a twinge of admiration--_

_Caleb, oh Caleb, her first friend, falling down unconscious, feeling terror lace through her heart as she runs forward, fumbling for a health potion that wasn’t there and flinging herself on top of him, terrified because if he dies she’ll be all alone again--_

_He’s so warm in his arms, sleeping peacefully for once, tangled together under the blankets, and he learns forward and mumbles against his temple those three words Caleb’s said to him so many times--ich liebe dich, ich liebe dich…._

_Caleb’s going to the bookstore. The leader of this small town has told them of uneasy feelings and of a black shadow stalking the streets. Caleb thinks he knows what it is, having read about it many years past, but he’s still uncertain and wishes to double-check for any possible weaknesses._

_So he disappears._

_And they forget about him. Each memory stolen away until there is nothing left._

They finally remember.

Caleb is looking at them with unguarded relief and fondness.

Of course, the first person who moves is Nott. She flings herself into his arms, making him drop the sword, and wails, “Caleb, Caleb, I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I forgot about you! You must have been _terrified!”_

“It was not my happiest moment, no,” he starts to snark. Then he lets out an _oof_ as Jester barrels forward and hugs him as well.

“Caleb! It was so weird--I missed you but I didn’t miss you because I couldn’t remember you existed! I didn’t like it,” she gushes. He’s much more awkward in her arms, patting her back, looking uncertain but accepting.

Yasha nods at him over Jester’s head. “I’m glad you’re back.” Caleb gives her an awkward smile, looking relieved that she didn’t try to hug him as well.

“Okay, from now on, Caleb does not go anywhere alone.” Beau sounds pissed, but she is also radiating relief. “We need to protect our squishy wizard, guys, or else who would light up the room for me when we go underground?”

“I agree perfectly,” Molly says. He looks as cool as a cucumber, but his tail is flicking back and forth. He gives Caleb a firm nod, mirroring Yasha. “Welcome back.”

Fjord dawdles for a moment. Finally, the promise of a resolution to the longing, the weird tugging at his heartstrings that he’s been feeling for the last few days takes over and he strides over. He easily reaches over Nott and Jester, taking Caleb’s face gently in his hands and leaning in to give him a slow, long kiss. He can feel dampness hit his cheek--tears that weren’t his.

He pulls back, but doesn't go far. Instead, he presses their foreheads together, and says softly, “Even when I couldn’t remember you, I missed you.”

Caleb’s hand reaches up and grips his wrist. His hand, so much smaller than Fjord’s, is unable to wrap around even the thinnest part of his wrist and he feels a faint tug of familiar amusement and he cannot believe that he almost lost this sense-memory to the void. Caleb says, clasping him close, “I knew you’d find me.”

His eyes are as blue as the sky.

**Author's Note:**

> Mechanics are loosely inspired by a book series I loved as a child!


End file.
